International think-tank announces eighth annual Brands with a Conscience awards

2011.1.9 by JY&A Admin

Wellington, January 15 (JY&A Media) The Medinge Group (medinge.org), an international think-tank on branding and business, has announced its eighth annual Brands with a Conscience list. The Group employs yearly awards to support and encourage businesses who demonstrate humanistic, compassionate, sustainable and socially responsible behaviour. The awards may be given to organizations, large or small, for-proﬁt or NGOs, who have come to the attention of the membership and who are deemed worthy of recognition.
A formalized nomination and voting process occurs between August and December, during which Medinge’s members evaluate, based on their expertise in humanistic branding, the competence and authenticity of each nominee.
Among this year’s winners are:
• a marine-based alternative energy system, which references conservation of the seas;
• a monolithic government-owned media company encouraging small business and grass roots’ endeavour;
• an ethical bank located in one of the troubled EU economies;
• a visionary zero-carbon urban community under construction in the Emirates;
• and for the Colin Morley Award, in the year of the Wikileaks controversy, a not-for-proﬁt organization using the internet as a channel for open distribution of information.
The Colin Morley Award, a unique category recognizing excellence by an NGO, this year honours TED and its enduring commitment to ‘ideas worth sharing’.
Stanley Moss, CEO of the Medinge Group, remarks, ‘Once again, the BWAC process has identiﬁed the most compelling areas of discussion in the current brand universe: alternative energy, grass roots’ initiatives, ethical ﬁnance, community and social media all ﬁgure in the organizations recognized.’
Jack Yan, one of the directors of the Medinge Group, says, ‘This is one of those rare times when we see a state-owned enterprise—the BBC—engage in socially responsible behaviour, showing that it is not the structure of the organization that matters, but the strength of its purpose.’

BBC World News–Newsweek for World Challenge/UKwww.theworldchallenge.co.uk
Now in its sixth year, World Challenge is a global competition aimed at ﬁnding projects or small businesses from around the world that have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots’ level. World Challenge is about championing and rewarding projects and businesses which really make a difference. In making this award, the Medinge Group wishes to acknowledge a channel of mainstream media for using their power and inﬂuence to help those under-appreciated organizations in need.

Caja Navarra/Spainwww.cajanavarra.es/en/home.htm
This not-for-proﬁt Pamplona-based bank loaned €3·3 billion and had a net proﬁt of €200 million in 2008. Customers decide the social causes to which proﬁts shall be allocated. There is a policy of complete transparency and exemplary peer-to-peer lending; and bank staff are encouraged to do voluntary work. In an era where banks are regarded with scepticism and disdain, Caja Navarra stands as a model for conscience-driven ﬁnancial institutions.

Masdar City/UAEwww.masdarcity.ae/en/index.aspx
The world’s ﬁrst zero-carbon city, designed to be powered by the sun and free of cars and skyscrapers. Projected to accommodate 50,000 people, at least 1,000 businesses and a university. Now under construction, it is being designed by British architects Foster and Partners, funded by the ruler of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Medinge’s Simon Nicholls remarked, ‘If it works, it will combine 21st-century engineering with traditional desert architecture to deliver safety, health and happiness.’

2011 Colin Morley Award

TED/USAwww.ted.com
TED’s simple credo of ‘ideas worth sharing’ is a concept absolutely core to the philosophy of the Medinge Group. This non-proﬁt organization believes that sharing compelling ideas is the way to change the world. They have created a simple but powerful mechanism for doing it: an 18-minute ﬁlmed talk shared for free on the web, an elegant demonstration of the positive power of internet-borne social media which exists in tandem with regular international seminars.

About the Medinge Group
Founded in 2002, the Medinge Group first published a brand manifesto of eight statements encapsulating a vision of healthy brands for the future. In 2003, the group authored a collection of essays entitled Beyond Branding, which explored the ways in which brands could add value within alternative business and social models. In 2004, the group established the annual Brands with a Conscience list to recognize organizations who epitomize humanistic behaviour; in 2006, Medinge added a special category of recognition named in honour of its late colleague Colin Morley, which acknowledges excellence by an NGO, in keeping with Colin’s humanistic vision. The Medinge Group maintains an online, automated speakers’ and experts’ bureau accessible through its website, medinge.org. In 2007 Medinge launched an online resource, The Journal of the Medinge Group, a digital anthology of papers and articles written by Medinge members.